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Experts' take on Windows 10 as it nears one month

00:39

NEW DELHI: So, almost a month after its launch, how have the experts and users responded to the much-hyped Windows 10 operating system from Microsoft? For the large part, the reviews and tests have given it the thumbs up.

Redmond-based Microsoft would be happy with the response so far, as it has been betting big on the new version of Windows. It was losing its pre-eminent position with the launch of Windows 8 and 8.1, which some critics had panned.

But the new Windows got a decent reception. Geoffrey A Fowler of the Wall Street Journal, wrote:" I've been testing Windows 10 for three months on these computers and even on my everyday work laptop. It's the best experience I've had since Windows XP.

The reason for this, he wrote, was that "it's familiar. The Start menu is back, and all your apps launch in your standard desktop view. Basically, if you know how to use Windows XP, you'll have no problems with Windows 10. But even though it's familiar, it's also fresh. With Windows 10, your PC is actually useful again."

Tom Warren of The Verge -- a tech website -- was more effusive. "Windows 10 is hugely exciting. I rarely touch my MacBook Air any more as I find the combination of some good hardware (like the Dell XPS 13) and Windows 10 is a joy to use. I like the direction Microsoft is taking with Windows 10, accepting feedback and ideas from its customers along the way," he said.

Microsoft was obviously tickled by the initial response. On its official blog it wrote: "We're humbled and grateful to see the response to Windows 10. We have seen unprecedented demand for Windows 10, with reviews and customer feedback overwhelmingly positive around the globe."

The problem with the last version of the operating system was that Microsoft had taken a huge risk by thinking that the world was moving to touch-based form factors or devices soon and thus brought to the table the Windows 8. The company was quick to realize this mistake and unified the touch-based OS with the traditional one into Windows 10.

However, some reviewers, although happy with the direction the new operating system had taken, were dissatisfied with bugs in the system.

Walt Mossberg of Recode said, "The near-final build I've been testing proved surprisingly buggy. In particular, I had trouble with Windows 10's sexiest new feature, the voice-controlled Cortana intelligent assistant - Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri - which has migrated from Windows Phones to the PC".

But David Pogue of Yahoo Tech was ecstatic. "You really are going to love Windows 10. You'll almost certainly want to upgrade your computers to it, especially since it's free, he said, cautioning though that you should not go for it immediately. "I'd suggest you wait six weeks. By then, Microsoft will have swatted most of the bugs, and many of your favourite software companies will have released Windows 10-compatible versions," he added.

In addition, Brian Chen of the New York Times said that Windows 10 had some way to go before becoming a solid all-round upgrade. "Combine the early bugs with the spottiness of Cortana and the fact that third-party app developers are still updating their Windows apps for Windows 10, the operating system still has a little way to go. But the improvements to security, along with the familiar user interface, should be reasons to grab this upgrade sooner than later," he said.